Forbidden Passion

Vanessa never thought she'd get a call from Theodore, and knowing he was coming over had her buzzing with excitement.

She jumped in the shower, dolled herself up, and ordered a fancy dinner for two from a swanky five-star joint to be delivered to her place. Vanessa set the steaks and lit the candles just as the doorbell rang.

She strutted out of the dining room, spritzed on some perfume, and hobbled on her crutch to open the door. There stood Theodore, wrapped in a dark gray coat. Whether it was the lighting or something else, Theodore, usually as solid as a rock, looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Vanessa was taken aback, speechless for a moment.

It wasn't until Theodore looked up, his eyes deep and unreadable, that Vanessa snapped out of it. "Theodore, what's up?"

Theodore stared at her and said, "Vanessa, change your clothes. We're heading out."

Vanessa's heart raced. 'Where's Theodore taking me?' she wondered.

"Hold on a sec." Vanessa turned around and almost tripped over her long dress. She hurried to her bedroom, changed clothes, and came out leaning on her cane. Passing by the dining room, Vanessa glanced at the perfectly set candlelit dinner, bit her lip, and walked towards the door.

She sat quietly in the back seat, sneaking glances at Theodore beside her, feeling super uneasy. "Theodore, where are we going?"

Theodore stayed silent. Leaving the Fitzroys' place, he felt a heavy burden. He hadn't expected Vanessa to cut ties with her family for him.

Now that Sophia was seriously ill, he couldn't just sit around and do nothing.

The car zoomed through the night and finally pulled up at the Fitzroy family's place. Vanessa peeked out the window and saw the familiar gate, her eyes instantly welling up. Theodore said, "Go in, Sophia's waiting for you."

Vanessa clenched her fists so tight her nails almost dug into her skin. She turned away and said coldly, "No. They ditched me."

Theodore frowned. "Vanessa, Sophia's sick and needs a heart transplant, but she's got no will to live. You're her daughter. If you don't go in and talk to her, she won't go to the hospital. Do you want to watch her die?" Vanessa's breath caught in her throat. She looked at Theodore in disbelief, her voice barely a whisper, "What did you say?"

Theodore closed his eyes for a moment, but his tone was ice-cold. "Convince Sophia to have the surgery. It's what you should and must do."

Vanessa felt like her world was crumbling. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Sophia had surgery before, and the doc said she was doing fine. How did it get worse?

Theodore opened the car door and got out. He walked around, opened her door, and pulled Vanessa out.

He stared at her sternly. "Vanessa, no matter what, your parents have done a lot for you. I hope you can convince Sophia to get treated ASAP."

Vanessa felt like everything was falling apart. She stared blankly at Theodore. "Theodore, I'm scared."

Seeing Vanessa's expression, Theodore's heart softened for a moment. He said, "Go in, I'll wait for you out here."

Phoebe had been on edge all night. She couldn't focus on anything and just kept staring at the clock, watching it tick away.

Phoebe picked up her phone. All her social media apps were dead quiet, even the usually buzzing company group chat was silent today.

When the clock hit eleven, Phoebe thought she should hit the sack, but her body just wouldn't budge.

Her fingers swiped across her phone screen, and she accidentally dialed a number. When she heard the voice on the other end, she realized what she had done.

Phoebe quickly tried to hang up, but the call had already connected. She stammered, "I dialed by mistake."

"Phoebe, go to bed early. I might not come back tonight," Theodore's cold and tired voice came through the phone.

Phoebe was about to say something when she heard another voice in the background, "Theodore, I'm ready..."

It was Vanessa's voice.

Phoebe didn't even wait to hear the rest of what Vanessa was saying before she hastily hung up. She clutched her phone tightly, feeling stupid for hanging up so quickly.

She was Theodore's legitimate wife. Theodore was out late at night with Vanessa, and she didn't even dare to ask a question before hanging up.

Was there any wife more pathetic than her?

Theodore looked at the disconnected call on his phone, put it back in his coat pocket, and turned to see Vanessa coming out with a luggage bag. She was struggling to walk, so he quickly walked over and took the bag from her. Then Theodore said to James and Sophia, "Let's go. I've arranged everything at the hospital. We can check in right away."

Sophia had cried while hugging Vanessa earlier, and her eyes were still red, but she looked much better than she had in the afternoon at the mall.

Sophia looked gratefully at Theodore and said, "Theodore, I'm sorry for the trouble."

"Sophia, no need to say that. Let's go; the driver is waiting outside." Theodore took the luggage bag and led the way out.

Sophia watched Vanessa hobbling on her crutches. Theodore didn't even offer to help her, showing that he had no romantic feelings for her at all. Now, Theodore was only willing to help their family because she had once been his teacher. Sophia sighed silently. James supported her arm and said, "Why are you sighing again? You mustn't overthink with your condition. We need to follow the doctor's advice."

James helped Sophia out the door. She said, "I was just thinking about what more I can do for Vanessa."

"Don't worry about it. Focus on getting better." James knew exactly what Sophia was thinking. To be honest, he had opposed Vanessa going to Nyxonia to study piano back then.

At that time, Vanessa had graduated from a prestigious university and had Theodore, a boyfriend who was unmatched in both status and looks. They should have been getting married in a couple of years.

But Vanessa had ruined such a good marriage. After ruining it, she had to learn to accept it. However, Vanessa regretted it.

What was the use of regretting now? Who would still be waiting for her?

It was nearly midnight when they finished the admission procedures. The experts held an emergency meeting and formulated a treatment plan, with Theodore and Vanessa fully involved.

Sophia's heart failure could only be treated conservatively for now, and they would wait for a suitable heart for a transplant. However, the experts also said that it was uncertain whether her condition would hold out until a heart was available, so the situation was not optimistic.

After the meeting, Theodore was ready to leave. As he stood up, Vanessa hugged him. "Theodore, I'm really scared. Can you stay with me?"